[NPInfo] Re:NP Laura on Fox News!

[Carla Anderson]

I think it is hard to read into everyone's thoughts and beliefs on email. I disagree about losing the "nurse" name, it is who I am.  I as a colleage never think of myself as "just a nurse",  I hold myself out proudly as a nurse too, and will always be a nurse.  I correct people who say so "you are no longer a nurse, or you are halfway between a nurse and a doctor",  I always say, "no I will always be a nurse, and am privileged to be one" and purposely did not choose medical school, but chose to be a nurse practitioner (and explain why) but what I meant was, that the public does not perceive a "nurse" always the way we hold ourselves out or the way we do , at least I have seen that, because many MAs, or other non-nurses  answer the phone and say "I am the nurse, etc".and the term nurse can be misconstrued, and there is so much disparity in education, and many other issues, that have affected this,  I just meant that the provider part gets lost. The nurse part of the provider
 in being a Nurse Practitioner is something I would never ever want to change, it is what makes our care so unique, and I would never want to practice as a physician. I find myself saying something similar to patients and friends almost every day.  Laura it sounds like you feel the same. To be both a nurse AND a provider is such an amazing combination, and one that patients are so fortunate to experience.  And you are right, as long as the article did portray what you wanted, and the important parts got across, and that is what you do  and not what your title is, we need to focus on that, and just keep doing what we are doing, and the practitioner part will get more and more understood through modeling.  Strong work. Also, seeing 9,000 patients in one year is amazing.  My practice has seen 9 in 2 mos, and I have had comments where I have gone above and beyond for each of those 9 patients, and then be called and ask me to drive them to their "doctor's appt" for free, or give
 commentary on labwork because their "doctor" is too busy or on vacation,and I should give it for free, and also after I did a comprehensive workup to include hypertension, and hyperlipidemia treatment and cardiac referral, I was told by the patient, "you know I guess I really should get in to see a doctor, it has been awhile"...so in other words all the work I did, he felt I just brought it to his attention that he had some health problems that needed a doctor, rather than seeing that I had been providing care for him..I even have a friend, that prefaces every medical question for 2 solid years now with "well, you're a nurse, so you might understand".(even though I send her articles on nurse practitioners all the time), and I found her thyroid nodule, and then she and her husband discussed it, since she had only been seing a cardiologist for heart palpitations, and they decided thanks for my help they better go find a "primary care DOCTOR"  ..so, I guess I do feel in my
 case, the "provider part" has been lost a bit in what I do,, and the community I live in is very doctor driven.  I think that also may affect how we feel about articles that are written. It does not change how proud I am of being a nurse.   But I also agree that we need to just keep being firm, and modeling our role, and it is not as the assistant that provides free advice all the time or free transportation.(Although I will continue to volunteer, and help patients in anyway I can, but also need to make a living, and do feel our time and educated information we give out is to be respected)  Carla  

Thiem <ljthiem at yahoo.com> wrote:  Folks, please understand that I have forwarded myself as a nurse. I deliberately called myself Nurse Laura to get away from the "Dr. Laura" tag with which many wanted to label me (no thanks to the popularity of Laura Schlessinger).

I don't permit people to marginalize or denigrate nursing. We create the environment in which we practice. If we continue to allow our colleagues to perpetuate the "just a nurse" image we do ourselves a great injustice. 

Nurses rank above physicians in trusted professions. We need to take that and run with it. There is a subtle shift away from physician centered care. People (patients) are seeing that different providers are capable of providing their health care. I stand firmly in the face of "would you rather see..." and say "I can do that and do it well--give nurses credit for what we do".. We need to take credit (and give credit) for what we do.

I am a nurse, if you want to see a physician you need to go somewhere else--may I help you make an appointment? ;-D

Laura, NP, Missouri



Carla Anderson wrote: It is awesome what Laura does, and overall is a pretty good article, but it still makes it sound like she is a "nurse" working where others dont, and that she has "some skills" that are helpful in rural areas... Laura you are awesome, I just get mad at these writers, they need to put in bold Nurse Pracititioner, and spend a paragraph on it, and it need to be in the Headline too, not just Nurse.. CarlaNP

Jeffrey Hazzard wrote: We MUST jettison the 'nurse' name. This video makes it clear to me. We need a new name and so do PAs. 
Jeff, NP




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Carla R. Anderson, FNP-C
Healing Presence Family Practice, PC 
carla_rayne at yahoo.com
503 819 9726
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Carla R. Anderson, FNP-C
  Healing Presence Family Practice, PC  
  carla_rayne at yahoo.com
  503 819 9726